Ambassador class
| Service period = 2325-25th century| Length = 524.256 meters| Width = 283.006 meters| Height = 101.955 meters| |Mass = 3,710,000 metric tons| Decks = 33| Crew = 700 | Speed = Warp 9.4 (standard)| Armaments = 10 type-IX phaser arrays, . 2 torpedo launchers| Defences = Deflector shields| Auxiliary Craft= Shuttlecraft| altimage = }} The Ambassador-class was a type of Federation heavy cruiser in service to Starfleet in the early 24th century into the 25th century. ( ; ) Service history The Ambassador-class was designed to be a replacement for the aging fleet of and vessels which had been in service for over three decades, and to create a true front-line heavy cruiser. Between 2325 and 2360, the Ambassador-class heavy cruisers were the primary capital ships of Starfleet until 2372, when Starfleet stopped production of these ships in favor of the larger, more resilient Galaxy class starships. ( ; ) The prototype of the class, the , experienced its first test-bed trials at Helaspont Station near Tzenkethi space in 2319, supervised by Starfleet Admirals Los Tirasol Mentir and John Harriman, ostensibly as an intimidation-tactic against the volatile Tzenkethi Coalition. The prototype was launched in the early 2320s The video game Bridge Commander and the Ships of the Line 2012 calendar give 2325 as the date this class entered service while the Last Unicorn RPG gives a date of 2322., and several other vessels were in service by 2324, including the . ( |One Constant Star}}, ) One of the most famous ships of the class was the , the fourth starship to bear the name, which was launched in 2332 under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett. The Enterprise was destroyed in 2344 while responding to a distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III. Upon arrival at the outpost they discovered that it was under attack by several Romulan warbirds. Regardless of the odds, the Enterprise put up a valiant fight and its act of sacrifice kick-started the peace process between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. ( ; ) Although the Ambassador-class was five decades old by the 2370s, many ships of the class continued to be in service, albeit refitted with the latest technologies which could be found aboard the more up-to-date models such as the explorers. ( ) In 2370 Starfleet commissioned the Bajorans to build a new Ambassador class ship named [[USS Hannibal (Ambassador class)|USS Hannibal]] at the Okana Shipyards on Bajor. At first Okana Shipyard director Amkot Groell thought the Federation had given the Bajorans a cast-off design, but quickly came to realize that despite the age of the class the Ambassador class design was still very good and quite modern. ( }}) Class variations Subclasses In the early 25th century, the Ambassador-class heavy cruiser was available in three variants: support cruiser, retrofit and fleet retrofit. Differences among the subclasses were equipment, hull durability and power levels. Basic Ambassadors were cruisers commanded by officers with the rank of commander or higher. Retrofits were available to Starfleet officers with the rank of admiral. The fleet variant required support by a Federation fleet to be obtained. The fleet retrofit included the ''Yamaguchi''-subclass. The components saucer, hull, neck, pylons and nacelles were interchangeable between Ambassador- and Yamaguchi-class starships. ( ) Livery By 2409, a total of seven basic livery designs were available to choose from, which could be modified further. These options were known as: Types 1-5, and Fleet and Veteran. ( ) In addition, the installation of shields from specific factions modified the hull appearance, including shields from the Reman Resistance, the Breen Confederacy and the Dominion. ( |Cold Storage|Boldly They Rode}}) Ambassador Type 1.jpg|Type 1 Ambassador Type 2.jpg|Type 2 Ambassador Type 3.jpg|Type 3 Ambassador Type 4.jpg|Type 4 Ambassador Type 5.jpg|Type 5 Ambassador Type 6.jpg|Type 6 Ambassador Type 7.jpg|Type 7 Ambassador Veteran.jpg|Veteran Ambassador Upgrade.jpg|Upgrade Ambassador Fleet.jpg|Fleet Ambassador Fleet 2.jpg|Fleet 2 Known vessels Appendices Appearances * Star Trek: The Original Series ** Vulcan's Heart * Star Trek: The Next Generation ** "Yesterday's Enterprise" ** Reunion ** "Data's Day" ** "Redemption, Part II" ** Foreign Foes ** The Best and the Brightest ** Q-Squared ** Behind the Lines ** Bridge Commander * Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ** "Emissary" ** Antimatter * Star Trek: New Frontier ** House of Cards ** Into the Void ** The Two-Front War ** End Game ** Martyr ** Fire on High ** Once Burned ** Double or Nothing ** Double Time ** Dark Allies * Star Trek: The Lost Era ** Well of Souls ** The Buried Age References * Star Trek: The Next Generation ** Worf's First Adventure ** "Conspiracy" * Star Trek Encyclopedia * Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual * Bridge Commander Background The lists slightly different stats than those listed here. They list the following size measurements (all in meters): l - 525, h - 361, and w - 133. The crew complement is 900. This class is equipped with a Type 7 Warp Drive, Type 9 Phaser Arrays, and Type 5 Photon Torpedoes. Apocrypha The ebook The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon, published by Last Unicorn Games after they had lost their Star Trek license, lists the USS Finian (NCC-47955) as an Ambassador-class starship. The software for the game Star Trek: Legacy lists the USS Breau, USS Colonial, USS Sanderon, USS Wolff, USS Colonial, USS Hackabout, USS Cole and USS Corvair as members of the class. However these additional names are blocked from use by the software, so do not appear at any point during game-play. Footnotes Connections * * de:Ambassador-Klasse category:starship classes category:24th century starship classes category:25th century starship classes category:mirror universe starship classes category:24th century mirror universe starship classes Category:Federation starship classes category:24th century Federation starship classes category:25th century Federation starship classes category:terran Empire starship classes category:24th century Terran Empire starship classes category:heavy cruiser classes category:cruiser classes Category:Explorer classes category:support cruiser classes Category:Ambassador class starships